WSSU Rams Come Back From 16 Down To Beat Shaw; Punch Ticket To CIAA Championship

DURHAM, North Carolina -- Winston-Salem State University battled back from a nine point halftime deficit and scored four second half touchdowns, and gained 428 total yards, as the Rams came away with a 30-23 win over Shaw University on Saturday afternoon at Durham County Stadium.
With the win, WSSU moves to 7-2 overall, 6-0 in the CIAA and 4-0 in the Southern Division. The Rams also secured their sixth consecutive Southern Division crown and a return trip to the CIAA Championship game in two weeks, to be played at Salem Stadium in Salem, VA. Shaw university falls to 1-8 overall, 1-5 in the CIAA and 1-3 in the CIAA's Southern Division.

The Shaw Bears started quick, and would get prime field position after a fumble by WSSU deep on their side of the field. The next play resulted in a score for Shaw, as Darron Downing scored from four yards out to give the Bears a 7-0 lead.

Early in the second quarter, the Bears would score again, as Beni Kinsemi connected on a 39 yards field goal to put Shaw up 10-0 on WSSU.

Late in the quarter, Shaw would pick up some more momentum, and with just 46 seconds remaining before the half, Shaw's Darron Downing would put the Bears up 16-0, when he rushed to the right side of the line, to score from eight yards.

But the Rams would answer with one of the biggest scores of the game, as the drive began with Rod Tinsley hitting an open Will Walton for a 48 yard gain, and putting the Rams in field goal range. On the next play, Rod Tinsley would find an open Demeeko Jones for a 29 yard touchdown, and with the PAT from Will Johnson, WSSU cut the lead to 16-7, and the Bears allowed the momentum to swing in the Rams favor.

It was a tale of two halves, as the Rams would take the third quarter kickoff and march down the field, and Te'Vaughn Hurse would score from nine yards out to trim the Bears lead to just two points, 16-14.

The Rams would keep the pressure on, and with 4:00 left in the third quarter, the Rams would take their first lead of the game, when after a 13-play drive that stalled, Will Johnson would connect on a 30 yard field goal, to give the Rams a 17-16 lead.

Winston-Salem State's defense continued to keep the momentum on the Rams side, and after a quick three and out, WSSU would get the ball back and the offense would take full advantage.

This time, Michael Benis would reach the endzone on a nine yard pass and catch from Rod Tinsley, and WSSU would extend their lead to 24-16.

Early in the fourth quarter, WSSU would put the game away, when Justus Pickett scored from 10 yards out, after an eight play, 65 yard drive, to give the Rams a 30-16 lead with 11:24 l3ft to play.

The Shaw Bears would not go away easy, and with 4:03 left, Darron Downing picked up his third touchdown of the day to pull the Bears closer, at 30-23.

Winston-Salem State's defense would come up big when it needed and shut Shaw down on their final series, to give the Rams the road win.

The WSSU Rams were led in rushing by Kerrion Moore, who finished with 19 carries for 151 yards. Te'Vaughn Hurse added 94 yards on 20 carries with a score, and Justus Pickett five carries for 42 yards and one touchdown.

Rod Tinsley went 11 of 23 for 139 yards and two touchdowns with a long pass of 48 yards.

Demeeko Jones finished with three catches for 46 yards and one touchdown, while Reggie Wilkins had two catches for 18 yards and Michael Benis had two catches for six yards and one touchdown. Will Walton (48 yds), Kerrion Moore (9 yds), William Belcher (9 yds) and Canard Brown (3 yds) each finished with one catch.

Will Johnson punted five times on the afternoon, for an average of 43.8 yards and also connected on a 30 yard field goal.

Defensively, the Rams were led by Xavier Gregory, who had six tackles and a pass breakup. De'Andre Blevins had four tackles and a pass breakup, Jayron Rankin had four tackles, 1.5 tackles for losses and a forced fumble. Albert McLean also added four tackles. Jack Nimmons had three tackles and two tackles for a loss. Jarrell Bright continued his stellar play, as he also had three tackles, two tackles for a loss, two sacks and a quarterback hurry, and Tyrell Fleming finished with three tackles and a tackle for a loss.

Winston-Salem State will wrap up the regular season next week on the road, when they take on the Fayetteville State Broncos with kickoff set for 2:00pm at Luther Nick Jerald's Stadium. The game will also be televised by the CIAA/ASPiRE TV Network. CIAA Regional Television Network is produced by Urban Sports & Entertainment Group.

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Bowie State Cruises to 41-23 Road Win at Lincoln (Pa.)

LINCOLN UNIVERSITY, Pennsylvania – Bowie State moved one step closer to the CIAA Northern Division title after pounding Lincoln University 41-23 on Saturday night. The win sets the Bulldogs overall record at 5-3, 5-1 in CIAA play and 3-1 in the North.

Lincoln (Pa.) (1-8, 0-6 CIAA, 0-4 North) got on the board first at the 9:46 mark of the first quarter, via a 29-yard field goal by Cody Waddell to take the early 3-0 lead.

Bowie State answers with 2:52 left in the first quarter on an Amir Hall (Bowie, Md.) 22-yard quarterback keeper. Gene Carson (Accokeek, Md.) added the extra point to give the Bulldogs a 7-3 lead. Maurice Williams (Baltimore, Md.) scored on a 1-yard touchdown run at the 10:53 mark of the second quarter to give Bowie State a 14-3 lead.

The Bulldogs took the opening possession of the third quarter 65 yards in just three plays, capped off by a 22-yard Hall to Brandon Britton (Columbia, Md.) pass, catch and score to give Bowie State a 20-6 advantage. Adam Gillis (Lanham, Md.) scored his first touchdown of the season on a 19-yard run to push the Bulldogs lead to 27-3 with 9:51 to go in the third quarter.

Lincoln's Stephen Scott rushed for a 2-yard touchdown but the Kahri Nquzi extra point was no good, leaving the Lions trailing at 27-9.

Bowie State quickly responded when Daryl Jasper (Capital Heights, Md.) recorded his first touchdown reception of the season, hauling in a Hall pass and breaking tackles along the Bulldogs sideline to score from 32 yards out with 2:40 left in the third quarter.

Lincoln (Pa.) wasn't done as Jason Epps completed a 3-yard pass to Jody Thomas to make the score 34-16 to open the fourth quarter scoring.

Bowie State's Hall walked in for a 2-yard touchdown with 8:03 left in the game to pad the Bowie State lead at 41-16.

With most of the Bowie State starters done for the night, Lincoln (Pa.) put together a five-play, 74 yard drive, when Epps hooked with Andre Price for a 25-yard score that accounted for the final margin of 41-23 with 5:17 remaining in the game.

Sophomore Robert Chesson (Annapolis, Md.) accounted for a game-high and career-best 184 rushing yards and senior Nyme Manns (Baltimore, Md.) was Bowie State's leading receiver with 105 reception yards on nine catches and went over 1,000 reception yards for the season. Hall threw for a game-high 294 passing yards on 21-of-34 passing and two touchdowns.

Graduate student Kevaugn Townsend (Fort Washington, Md.) tallied a game-high 11 total tackles (7 solo and 4 assisted), which included four tackles for a loss of 13 yards. Fellow graduate student Antoine Young (Washington, D.C.) was responsible for nine total tackles.

Epps paced the Lincoln (Pa.) Lions on the offensive side of the ball with 246 passing yards, completing 20-of-37 passes (one interception) and two touchdowns, but was sacked four times.

Tony Jones paced the Lions defensive with a team-high nine tackles while Deon Miller, Kevin Norris and Rhamir Thomas added eight tackles each in the loss.

The Bulldogs will close out the regular season next Saturday (11/5) hosting the Vikings of Elizabeth City State University on Senior Day at 1 p.m.

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Tuskegee rebounds with win over Central State Marauders

WILBERFORCE, Ohio -- The 17th-ranked Tuskegee University football team rebounded from last week's loss, and rebounded in a big way as they ran away from Central State University 42-14 on Saturday afternoon.
 
Tuskegee (7-1, 5-1 SIAC) used a 21-point third quarter and 304 yards of total offense to continue their push for a spot in the NCAA Division II playoffs, currently sitting third in the Super Region 2 standings this past week.
 
After a slow start on their first possession, the Golden Tigers drove down the field on their second possession. They used just 2:14 and six plays to drive 61 yards for the game's opening score, culminating with an 11-yard burst from fullback Branden Wilson for the 7-0 lead.
 
Central State tied the game on a 13-play, 75-yard drive that used 5:29 to open the second quarter. The Marauders used a mix of run and pass to drive the field, until Lavon Meeks ran into the end zone from six yards out to the game at 7-all with 9:38 remaining in the opening half.
 
But from there, the game belonged to the Golden Tigers.

Ballard finished 19-of-35 passing for 290 yard and two touchdowns, and he ran 19 times fro 101 yards. Freshman running back Jordan Bentley added 15 carries for 80 yard and two TDs, while Tevin McKenzie also caught a touchdown pass.

Ballard was named the game's MVP.

For Alabama State, Khalid Thomas ran 24 times for 170 yards a touchdown, and Quinterris Toppings had six carries for 127 yards and a touchdown. Willis White caught a 44-yard TD pass from Toppings.

Alabama State jumped out to a 14-3 lead, as Thomas scored on a 16-yard run after he returned a punt 54 yards. Topllings later scored on a 73-yard run.

Carden's 24-yard field goal gave Alabama A&M its only points of the first quarter, but Bentley's 22-yard TD run early in the second quarter made it 14-10.

Alabama A&M's Tere Calloway intercepted a pass in the end zone late in the first half, and the Bulldogs drove 67 yards in three plays. Carden's 30-yard field goal on the final play of the first half made it 14-13.

"The game went back and forth, but we didn't get down," Spady said. "At the half, I told our players that we needed to make a few adjustments, but we needed to get a quick start in the second half."

In the fourth quarter, Alabama State led 35-27, but Tevin McKenzie's 1-yard run cut the deficit to 35-33. Ballard then hit Kalias Robertson with the 2-point pass to tie the game at 35-all.

Alabama A&M had one last chance to win game on Carden's 34-yard field goal attempt with 1:12 to go, but it was blocked.

Alabama A&M finished with 555 yards -- 297 passing and 258 rushing. Alabama State ran for 391 yards.

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Magic City Classic: Alabama A&M wins overtime thriller

BIRMINGHAM, Alabama -- Alabama A&M's De'Angelo Ballard threw an 18-yard touchdown pass to Jonathan Dorsey in overtime, and Nick Carden's extra point gave the Bulldogs a 42-41 victory in the Magic City Classic.

With the win, Alabama A&M has won two of the last three Magic City Classics.

The Bulldogs also had a chance to win in the final moments of regulation, but Carden's field goal was blocked by Alabama State.

Alabama State got the ball first in overtime, with Marquell Beckwith scoring on a 14-yard run. Then, kicker David Albert missed the extra point.

Dorsey scored a few plays later, and Carden's kick ended the game at Birmingham's Legion Field.

"I am so proud of my players, especially Nick Carden," Alabama A&M coach James Spady said. "He got a kick blocked, and it would have been easy to drop his head and lose confidence. So he came back and made the kick that won the football game, and I am so proud of him for not getting down."



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Big man wanted: Southern's search for a center goes beyond one position

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana -- The Jaguars need a big man.

The Southern men's basketball team doesn’t have a specific plan for how it wants to compete inside, at least not one coach Roman Banks is comfortable sharing just yet.

He has a few options, but almost all of them create a ripple effect through the lineup, and none of them seems to fit into a nice package in terms of size matchups.



“We have a few different possible ways (we could go) that we're looking at,” Banks said. “I just think that it’s a little bit too early; some people still have a bit of a learning curve, and not one person has shown any dominance.”

If the season started tomorrow — and Banks is happy it doesn’t — instead of Nov. 12 at Ohio, junior Jared Sam likely would start at center.

At 6-foot-9 and 210 pounds, Sam is the closest thing the Jaguars have to a natural big man, at least one with any practical experience at the position within the confines of Southern’s system.

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Southern at Alcorn: Luke Johnson's top three thoughts

LORMAN, Mississippi -- WHAT WE LEARNED

Alcorn State is no longer Southern kryptonite. The Jaguars snapped a five-game losing streak in fairly convincing fashion Saturday. The Braves had not only beaten Southern, but they’d embarrassed them — especially the last three contests. Southern looked like it was ready to return the favor this time.

TRENDING NOW

How about Lenard Tillery? Southern’s standout running back nearly set a career high in rushing on the day he broke the SWAC rushing record. Saturday marked the fourth time this season that he had at least 120 rushing yards by the end of the third quarter. Tillery is special, and he plays at home two more times ever. Hint, hint.



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PVAMU Panthers Earn Tough Road Win At Jackson State

JACKSON, Mississippi -- Prairie View A&M football earned a tough 28-14 win at Jackson State in a grind-it-out type of contest Saturday at Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium.

Jalen Morton accounted for three touchdowns (two passing, one rushing) as the Panthers (5-3 overall, 5-1 SWAC) wins the first leg of the 'final four' heading into a pair of home games against two-time defending champ Alcorn St. (3-4, 3-3), who is still tied for first in the East with Jackson St. (3-5, 3-3), and Southern (5-2, 5-0), defeated Alcorn St. 41-33 earlier Saturday.

"It was a tough football game," said Prairie View A&M head coach Willie Simmons. "Jackson State is playing really good football. We knew it was going to be a 60-minute game. Luckily for us we were able to jump out to an early lead, and get a big, big turnover coming out of halftime that gave us a 21-point lead and kind of put them in passing mode."

Caleb Broach rushed 17 times for 78 yards and a touchdown, and Anthony Wiltz and Cameron Smith added TD receptions for the Panthers, who built a 21-0 lead and made it stand up.

"It's tough to win on the road in this league," Simmons said. "I'm proud of the team winning in a tough environment on Jackson State's homecoming in front of a great crowd. They have a great football team and great coaching staff. We're fortunate to get out of here with a win. We'll get back to work this week. The road doesn't get any easier. We've got a tough Alcorn State team coming in next week."

The Panther defense held Jackson State to minus-3 yards rushing, forced three turnovers, and recorded three sacks. James Harper led the way with eight tackles, one sack, and 2.5 tackles for loss.

"We challenged the defense to stop them from running the football," said Simmons. "Whenever you can run the ball, it opens up so many other things in the passing game. We were able to stuff them in the running game,which was a great accomplishment for this defense as they again gave us a chance to win the game. I'm proud of (Defensive Coordinator Ralph) Street and the defensive staff of putting a great game plan together and they executed it well."

PVAMU took the lead in the first quarter, driving 42 yards in three plays. Wiltz scored on a 21-yard screen pass from Morton to give PVAMU a lead they would not relinquish at 7-0 with just over 8 ½ minutes remaining in the period.

A Marquice O'Leary 39-yard punt return set up the second score just before halftime. A seven-play, 37-yard drive ended with Smith's seven-yard TD catch from Morton on the final play of the period to give the Panthers a 14-0 lead.

Special teams came up big on the opening kick of the second half, as Terrence Reynolds forced a fumble that was recovered by Foster Brown II at the JSU 25. Following a pass interference against the Tigers, Caleb Broach scored on a 10-yard run to give PVAMU a 21-0 lead early in the third quarter.

Jackson State added a pair of touchdowns in the third quarter before the Panthers put it away in the fourth. Morton capped off a six-play, 53-yard drive with a four-yard scamper for the clincher as Prairie View A&M rushed for 113 yards in the second half.

"I thought the defense did a great job today of making some big plays and keeping them behind the chains," Simmons said. "Special teams made some the big plays as well. Two of the three phases played really well. Offensively we struggled at times, but we were able to run the ball late, which was good to see."

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